Giambologna's head of Medusa must go home: Supreme Court rules

The head of Medusa that was about to go up for auction last fall, but was later withdrawn from a Pandolfini sale, must return to Bagno a Ripoli , following a report to the Carabinieri of the Nucleo Tutela Patrimonio Culturale, who then subjected the work to seizure: there was in fact a suspicion that the work was the one from the Nymphaeum of the Fata Morgana made by Giambologna in Bagno a Ripoli. The municipality of the Florentine hinterland is formally the owner of the work: however, several decades before the nymphaeum became public property in 1996, the complex, probably in the 1920s, was looted without many traces remaining around.

It was the Court of Cassation that decided for the return of Medusa’s head to the municipality on the outskirts of Florence, in a ruling that upheld the confiscation of the work. The head of Medusa can thus be reunited with the Nymphaeum of the Fata Morgana made by the Flemish sculptor in 1572.

After the seizure, the current owner, a Florentine noblewoman who had received the head of Medusa as an inheritance, had filed an appeal, which was rejected , however, on the grounds that the work had been removed from the Nymphaeum without permission. The current owner has no responsibility over the unlawful removal, however, as the Supreme Court has also pointed out, “confiscation must be mandatorily ordered even if the private individual is not responsible for the wrongdoing.”

“A wonderful piece of news,” the mayor of Bagno a Ripoli, Francesco Pignotti, commented on Facebook, “the Head of Medusa attributed to Giambologna will be able to be returned to its original home, the Fountain of Fata Morgana, from where it disappeared so many years ago. This was ruled by the Court of Cassation, which was called to decide on the future of the work that had reappeared last year and was about to go to auction. Now, as anticipated by Corriere Fiorentino, the Medusa can be returned to the community! We will take immediate action, as owners of the Fountain, to return it to the nymphaeum, protect it and enhance it as best we can, so that everyone can admire it in the place, magical and beautiful, from which it comes.”

Giambologna's head of Medusa must go home: Supreme Court rules

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.